March 27

Spring Break Reflection

By the time this is rolling into your inbox, Spring Break (at least for Birminghamians) will be coming to a close. We drove to Edisto Beach, SC, and the 7 hour drive was nothing compared to our 14 hour fiasco from SB 2025. Of course our time away was high on sugar, screens, and tears, but in between was filled with really sweet moments. While I do not usually refer to my children by name on this platform, I wanted to take a minute and talk about what I enjoyed in each of them this week…

Josh

Proximity to the beach rendered irrelevant to Josh because he was consumed with the unlimited putt putt access across the street. He spent hours on the course and likely played 300 holes by the time we left the island. It is a privilege to watch his diligence in his activities, and his patience with the antics of his younger siblings far surpasses my own.

Evelyn

This kindergartner is a little fish and could not be happier in the water. Unfortunately for me, the pool closest to our condo was not heated. While this did not seem to bother Evie the Brave, I was not so sure about joining her in the water. On the first day, I was watching her poolside and she swam up to me, held my hand, looked me in the eye and said, “Mom, I know it is hard to jump in the cold pool. But God is with you and with God you can do hard things.” Of course I then had to swim, mostly grateful that gospel truths are taking root inside her.

Whit

Our little sour patch kid is feeling all the things these days. I am many things for this child, ranging from first recruit for anything he might need, to number one scapegoat for anything that might go wrong. Allegedly no one can put socks on his feet like me, but also it is allegedly my fault when he spills his water on himself. What can I say? I wear many hats. But my favorite Whit quality right now is the way he sings to himself. He makes up songs about God and our car ride was all the better for his creative musical numbers.

Julia

Whenever you think of Julia, say a prayer for her safety. This child won’t stay buckled in the car, crawls out of cribs, and has few fears apart from the vacuum and hair dryer. She keeps us on our toes but brings so much joy to our family. When one of the older ones gets upset, she will come and lay her head on their chest. She can cheer up others in a way that I cannot, and I am so grateful for our caboose.

Last week one of my questions was:

Think about the recent quarrels in your family. How might they reveal ways you can be praying for your family?

While I will eliminate such details from this post, I can promise you that I have plenty of new fodder to ponder this question. Yet even so, we try to discuss at dinner each night (ish) how we saw God working that day. I am grateful for the Lord’s presence with us this week and reminded that time away is special not because of a destination, but it is special because of a break in rhythms and a slower pace, especially with young children whose trip highlights include putt putt and the McDonald’s play place.

Isaiah 46:3-4 says “Listen to me, you descendants of Jacob, all the remnant of the people of Israel, you whom I have upheld since your birth, and have carried since you were born. Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.”

As we pray for our families, may we praise God for the way he cares for his people. The verbs of this verses reveal as such- upheld, carried, sustain, made, rescue. Lord, help us to remember these truths.

Anne

The squad- courtesy of Mark, pictured below

I found some videos that a child (truly don’t know which one) took on my phone this week of Mark unloading the dishwasher at the condo. Thought this candid was a hilarious and fitting tribute to his vacation stamina. We are thankful for our fearless road warrior, tetris packing genius, and condo organizer. As Publix makes shopping a pleasure, so too does Mark with travel!